The One With the Bedraggled Bride
by callistawolf
Summary: Doctor John Noble's carefully ordered life is falling apart spectacularly and when he thinks it can't get any worse, the girl he'd fancied back when he'd been a spot-faced youth comes blowing through the door of his favorite pub, wearing a wedding dress and a desperate expression. An Alternate Universe/TV Fusion where DW characters live in the "Friends" world.


Doctor John Noble pushed through the doors to the pub, shaking the raindrops off his long, brown trenchcoat. The atmosphere inside The Blue Door pub is warm and inviting as usual but it always seems to be more so on rainy days like this. Not for the first time, John was glad that Idris had purchased the pub from the previous owners (it'd been called The Prydian back then). They'd been terribly stuck up and stuffy and no one with any adventure in their heart had dared to step foot in the place back then.

Right now, he needed a warm and friendly atmosphere more than ever. The walls paneled in a dark wood, hung with portraits of people no one has ever known. Rugs of all sizes, shapes and colors covered the wood floors. Small tables werescattered around the room, a few of them filled with loyal patrons and a few tourists anxious to get out of the wet. The really dedicated regulars sat up at the bar, nursing pints of dark liquid and joking with Idris, the eccentric owner. She saw him and gave him a mock salute and a wink which he half-heartedly returned.

He did a quick scan of the cozy establishment and found his friends occupying their usual places on the sofa and chairs surrounding the great marble fireplace with a healthy fire roaring away in the grating. Mickey Smith looked up from his wingback chair and saw him, dripping by the door, and waved him over with a smile.

"What's new, boss?" he asked, taking a drink of his lager. Mickey always insisted on calling him 'boss' even though they'd been friends since attending secondary school together. He'd long since stopped correcting him on it, deciding he rather liked the affectionate nickname.

John dropped onto the sofa next to his sister, Donna. Their other friend Martha Jones, sat on the other side of Donna while Jack Harkness reclined comfortably in his own overstuffed chair. Both waved and mumbled greetings. The whole gang was assembled. Great. At least he wouldn't have to worry about repeating the news.

"What's wrong?" Martha asked, looking concerned.

"It's Joan," he said. "She's left me."

Four jaws fell open in unison. Donna was the first to snap hers shut again. "When did this happen?" she demanded.

He jammed a hand into his dripping hair. "Last night. I got back from the lab and she was standing in the living room with a packed suitcase."

"You're _kidding_ me," Martha said, leaning forward to meet his eye. "What brought this on? Did she say?"

"She's... she's been seeing someone. Someone she met at work, at the school. His name is Gregory, apparently," he bit out, feeling more than just a little sorry for himself. It was true, things had been difficult with him and Joan for a while now. He was spending a lot of time at the university, more than usual. They were fighting more than they were getting along. Now this. He knew were growing apart, he'd just hoped to... avoid the unpleasantness. Apparently, his wife had other plans.

"Wait, she's been stepping out?" Jack asked, sitting up straighter. "I didn't think she had it in her."

"Jack..." Donna said warningly. She patted his knee affectionately. "I'm sorry, big brother."

"Thanks, Donna. I just... never expected this," he admitted, frowning down at his hands now folded in his lap.

"There's someone out there for you, boss," Mickey said encouragingly. "You just gotta find her."

John snorted. "There was someone. Her name was Joan Redfern and I married her."

"No offense, spaceman, but I don't think she was The One," Donna said. "You two haven't been happy for years. Plus, you married her fresh out of Oxford."

"Yeah, it's not like you had enough time to explore the field there, Doc," Jack remarked. "Who knows who might be out there, waiting for you."

"That's right," Martha said, soothingly. "You could run into your dream girl when you least expect it."

He tried not to look too doubtful but he knew the odds weren't too likely. Maybe he wasn't meant to fall in love. Maybe he was meant to be married to his work after all. After all, he'd thought Joan was the perfect match for him and they'd simply grown apart after leaving Oxford. Maybe that's what people did. They just grew apart.

As if on cue, the door to the pub blew open again. Wind and rain whipped inside, along with a women. A woman who was dressed in a wedding gown, complete with filmy (and now torn) veil Her hair was hanging on her shoulders, dripping with wet and she had a sad, almost desperate look on her face. And, John realized with no small amount of shock, he knew her. In fact, he'd know her anywhere.

"Rose?" Donna asked, getting to her feet and crossing the room to the bedraggled bride. "Is that you? It _is_ you! What are you doing?"

"Oh Donna!" Rose cried, visibly relieved. "Thank goodness you're here! I went to your flat and your neighbor said I might find you here. I didn't know where else to go, I don't think I know anyone else who lives here in London."

"Woah, slow down there," Donna said, giving her a quick hug. "Come on over here and sit down. Tell us all about it." She steered her towards the grouping of chairs and Martha hopped up, moving to an adjacent tufted club chair.

John got to his feet, still flummoxed that Rose, _Rose Tyler_, was standing here before him. She was wearing a wedding dress, for some crazy reason. He hadn't seen her since he went off to Oxford all those many years ago. Thought of her? Sure. Seen her? Nope. And, lord help him, she looked just as good as she ever did. All pink and yellow and perfect.

"Rose, this is the gang. You've got Martha Jones here, she used to be my roommate. She's brilliant. Then, there's Jack over there, the one leering at you. He's a scoundrel, watch out for him. You know Mickey, of course and my brother, John. Guys, this is Rose Tyler. She went to school with John, Mickey and I," Donna said, introducing everyone.

Rose offered tremulous greetings to everyone before turning and catching John's eye. He was still gawking at her, he knew it and she blushed awkwardly. "Hello, John," she greeted.

"Hello, Rose," he returned. "Long time no see."

She grinned at that, that familiar grin of hers that had always driven him crazy back in secondary school. Looked like it could still drive him crazy, in fact. "Been busy," she replied, tucking her tongue into the corner of her smile and his insanity was officially complete.

"So Rose, what happened? Why are you... in a wedding dress?" Donna asked. The rest looked equally interested to hear the answer. This was no longer an ordinary Saturday afternoon at The Blue Door.

"I was supposed to get married. I should be married, right now in fact. But I... I couldn't do it," she admitted and tears began to collect in her eyes. John unconsciously reached out to grab her hand. "Jimmy, he was my fiance, he's got to be furious right now. But I- I knew, I knew I had to get out."

Something in her tone, in the words she was carefully choosing, made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He could tell it wasn't the time to press her for details and he could tell Donna noticed it as well. She was patting Rose's shoulder, comfortingly and she met John's eyes over her head for just a moment. His own concern was mirrored there.

"Listen, why don't you come up to my flat. I'll get you a towel for your hair and you can dry off and get your bearings, okay? Maybe call your mum? If I remember Jackie, she's got to be worried sick about you," Donna suggested. Rose smiled at her and nodded.

The whole gang ended up returning to Donna's flat. It was located in the building over the pup, conveniently enough. It'd been his and Donna's grandmother's flat before she'd passed away five years ago. As a result, Donna had scored a great deal on the price which was handy for a flat in downtown London. Jack and Mickey lived in the flat across the hall from Donna but always seemed to spend more time at Donna's place. It could have something to do with the fact she kept her fridge better stocked than they did. Plus, it smelled considerably better.

The flat was basically a converted loft, with high ceilings and exposed beams. The walls had been painted bright and cheerful colors and Donna had hung artwork and posters on the walls which helped alleviate the stark quality of the large room. The kitchen, dining and living room were one big room without walls, and there were two bedrooms located off the living room. Martha had been Donna's roommate for years, from when she'd first taken over the flat from their grandmother. She'd only just moved out to her own flat a few months before and that was because she wanted a place to crash closer to the hospital where she put in insane hours when on shift.

"Can I use your phone?" Rose asked Donna when they all trooped into the flat a few minutes later. "I left my mobile behind... with everything else."

"Yes, go ahead. There's a handset on the counter," Donna said, waving at the kitchen. Everyone else settled down on the sofa and chairs in the living room. John's gaze kept drifting to Rose as she dialed a number in the phone and paced nervously. She looked amazing. Wet wedding dress aside, she looked incredible. Older, more mature. Her cheeks weren't as round as he remembered and she looked a lot leaner all over. Her hair was a more natural blonde now than the bleached blonde he remembered from school. Her makeup wasn't as heavy as she used to wear it either. He could see her whiskey colored eyes better. She glanced at him and a blush crept across her cheeks. He looked away, aware that he was staring.

The group of friends were trying to amuse themselves and act casual, but as Rose started to speak on the phone, they gave up all pretense of not listening in to her side of the conversation.

"Mum! Mum, it's me," Rose said briskly. She winced and John could hear a shrill voice over the line clear from where he was sitting. "I couldn't do it, Mum. I... I don't love him."

There was a pause and he saw his friends exchanging looks in the silence. "There's more to it, Mum. I'll explain later. I just can't sign myself up for that life, I want to mean something," Rose was saying. Martha was watching her, concern shining in her dark eyes. Martha was always their voice of reason and she always worried over the lot of them like a mother hen. John could see Rose already being brought into the fold, at least as far as Martha was concerned.

"Mum, if I come back there, you're just going to drag me down with you. No, Mum, I'm sorry I don't mean to disrespect. No, I _don't_ want to hurt you!" Rose sounded very frustrated and the shrill voice was now almost a constant buzz through the handset. "I just need to live for myself, while I still can, Mum. I wish you'd understand."

He could see the tears welling up in her eyes and his heart lurched for his old friend. He knew that Rose's mum, Jackie, could be very overbearing. He'd witnessed many a tirade courtesy of Ms. Tyler back in the day and had seen enough to know he never wanted to be on the receiving end of her anger. He had more respect for Rose in that moment for standing up to what was truly a formidable force.

"Mum, you can't mean that!" Rose gasped and her eyes flew to Donna. Donna mouthed a 'what?' back at her but Rose turned her back for a moment and he could hear the tears in her voice as she continued. "But Mum, where will I stay? I have no money! I've even left my purse at the church, I have no ID." There was a pause and John was certain they could have heard a pin drop in the flat. No one was saying anything and he wondered if anyone was daring to even breath.

"Can you at least send Shireen over here with my purse? Mum, I'm sorry." A burst of shrill noise cut her off and Rose bit her lip and closed her eyes. She rattled off the address of Donna's flat, sounding resigned. "Okay, Mum. I'll talk to you soon." She hung up the phone and turned to face the group, looking distinctly shaken.

Donna enveloped her in a hug and Martha joined in. John and the other men hung back, looking a little uncomfortable and not knowing where the lines were drawn. He wanted nothing more than to give her a hug in that moment, but he didn't want to make her more upset. He jammed his hands in his pockets in an effort to keep himself still.

"Donna, I hate to ask since you've been so kind already. Can I stay here until Shireen comes with my purse? I just... I have nothing I can do until I at least have that. I have no idea where I'm going to go..."

"Oh, don't be a berk, Rose. You're going to stay here, full stop," Donna chided gently. "It sounds like you need a place to stay?"

Rose nodded. "Mum said she doesn't want me to come home, says I've got too many airs and she doesn't want to 'drag me down'. I shouldn't have said what I did. But how do I explain to her, that I want more from my life than what she's had?"

"You did nothing wrong, Rose, you were just standing up for yourself," Martha told her. "And good for you! Maybe you should have figured this out before the wedding day but... better late than never?"

Rose chuckled weakly. "Thanks, Martha. And thank you, Donna. I'll find a job, I'll pay my way," she promised.

Donna smiled. "I'm not worried, I know you will. It'll be fun! We have a lot of catching up to do, we kind of drifted apart after you left school in year 11."

"Yes, we do. And I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you. If you don't mind me barging into your little group," she said, looking a little uncertain.

"Nonsense! Any friend of Donna's is a friend of mine. Especially one with such an incredible smile," Jack said, grabbing her hand and brushing a kiss across her knuckles.

"It's good to have you back, babe," Mickey said, drawing her into a hug. John shifted from foot to food. First, Jack's blatant flirting and now this reminder of that brief time near the end of their secondary school careers where Mickey and Rose had been dating. He wondered, a little surprised at how panicked he felt, if Mickey would be looking to rekindle things with Rose.

He realized, with sudden and startling clarity, that he wanted to catch Rose's eye. After all, his marriage was officially failed, what was standing in his way? And here he'd thought, just hours ago, that maybe he was through with romance and women. He'd thought that maybe he wasn't interested in that kind of entanglement anymore. It turns out, he was interested, at least when it came to one Rose Tyler. For the first time since Joan had dropped her bomb on him the night before, he felt a stirring of hope for the future.

"Where... do you... want this?" Jack asked, huffing as he maneuvered a large easy chair into the not-quite-empty-so-more flat.

John stood up from where he was re-assembling a bookshelf and gestured to the corner of the room next to a large window. "Right over there. Thanks, Jack."

"No problem," Jack said as he pushed the piece of furniture into place.

Thanks to his friends, the flat didn't look so empty and lonely any longer. He'd felt a wave of sadness when he'd first taken possession of the flat earlier that day. He was surprised that he didn't miss Joan very much, they really had been growing apart. But he dreaded the thought of being isolated and alone. He reminded himself of his friends and of Rose back in their lives and felt a little better. Having some furnishings in his new flat made him even better still.

"How about we all take a break and have a drink?" he suggested, crossing into the cramped kitchenette and opening the fridge door. There wasn't much inside, just some lager, a block of cheese, and some curry takeout. He'd have to remedy that soon.

Mickey was putting together a dining table and looked up hopefully. "I'm in," he said, putting down his tools and getting to his feet.

The men gathered at the counter, drinking from their bottles in quiet contemplation for a moment before Jack broke in. "So that Rose... she's something, isn't she?" He waggled his eyebrows for effect.

Mickey chuckled but John looked miserable. Jack nudged him. "What's the matter buddy?"

John chanced a look at Mickey. Once upon a time, Mickey had known about John's crush on Rose. It had come out, messily enough, during that brief period of time that Mickey and Rose had dated. Mickey smirked at him. "I don't think John appreciates you gawping at Rose," he explained companionably.

Jack looked at John and raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? Care to elaborate?"

John sighed and took a swig of his lager for strength. "I had a crush on her, back in secondary. She never gave me the time of day, of course. She was busy with her friends and her social life, I was just Donna's geeky older brother, spending all of his free time in the library or chatting up the physics professor."

"So not much different from now, is what you're saying," Jack said and winked at him. John glowered back.

"I never got up the courage to really talk to her," John admitted, scratching at the back of his head self-consciously. "Then I was off to Oxford and I heard through Donna that Rose left after getting her GCSE's."

"Yeah, like I did," Mickey explained. "Rose and I grew up next door to each other, on the council estate. It was just me and my gran at our place, Rose and her mum at theirs. We both needed to work to help pay the bills."

John nodded. "As a result, I didn't see her much when I was home on holiday. She was always busy and Donna said they just drifted apart."

"Well you can make up for lost time now, can't you?" Jack asked and tipped his bottle back, draining the rest of the lager.

He flushed at the thought. "I can't just ask her out now," he grumbled.

Mickey snorted. "And why not? Your marriage is over, you don't even seem that broken up about it. She's obviously not married. No time like the present!"

"I'm not... I'm not very good around women. Not like that. Joan was my first real serious girlfriend and we met at school. Marrying her was a logical conclusion. I never really ever had to ask her out, she did all the asking," John said sheepishly.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Oh brother. Just fake it 'till you make it, Doc. Just ask her!"

John grumbled and finished the rest of his lager. His friends meant well, he was sure. But he just couldn't picture himself asking Rose Tyler out on a date. That would take far more confidence and nerve than he had at his disposal.

A few nights later, the gang was gathered once again at Donna's flat. Well, John supposed, it was now Donna and Rose's flat. According to Donna, Rose had been out job hunting every day that week and was getting more and more discouraged at her lack of progress.

Mickey was regaling them with a tale from the police station. He was a police constable for the City of London police force, hoping to work his way up to detective inspector one day. He always had the best stories, getting to see all manner of life down at the station.

John found that now that Joan had kicked him out, he was spending more and more time with his friends and less at the lab. Considering that Joan had accused the amount of time he was spending at the lab as one of the chief reasons she was leaving him, he found that ironic. But now that he was "free", so to speak, without the pressure of letting down his wife, he could easily spend more time where he wanted. That, of course, was here with the people who meant the most to him. His friends didn't judge him, didn't expect anything of him other than that he be himself. He was very glad for their company.

Rose entered the flat, looking tired but thrilled. "Did you get it?" Donna asked right away, handing the spoon she was using to stir the contents of the pan on the stove to Jack. Amused, Jack took over cooking duties while Donna crossed the room to Rose and clasped her hands in her own.

Rose nodded happily, a huge grin breaking across her face. Donna engulfed her in an enormous hug.

"Oh thank goodness!" Martha enthused. "I didn't realize the job market here in London was so slow! Which job was this one again?"

Rose shrugged and looked mildly embarrassed. "It's just as a shop girl. At Henriks."

"It's a start," Donna said definitively, adding a sharp nod of her head.

"I'm just so relieved to have found something," she admitted. "Now I won't feel so useless!"

"You're not useless, you're a great person," Mickey pointed out, swooping her up into a crushing hug.

"This calls for a celebration! Let's go get some takeout! And some booze!" Jack suggested.

"I'll go with you," Martha said.

In the end, Donna and Mickey tagged along as well, with the understand that Donna and Martha would hit the shops to purchase some wine and that Jack and Mickey would go to the curry joint and procure them some takeout. That left John and Rose back at the flat, together.

Rose was sitting on the couch, leafing through a magazine idly. John sucked in a breath and crossed the room and sat down next to her but being careful to leave plenty of distance between them. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable before he had the chance to really stick his foot in it.

"Congratulations on the job," he said to her, his voice unconsciously quiet.

"Thanks," she said and set her magazine down. "And how are you doing? Is everything... okay? Donna told me about your... wife."

"Ex-wife," he clarified. "I'm adjusting. It's not so bad, really. I've got my own flat now, I'm all set up there."

"That's good. I'm sorry to hear about your divorce though. That has to be rough," she said, her tone careful.

He nodded, more in acknowledgement of her words than in actual agreement. "I am too. I always expected that when I got married it would be for good. For keeps. Well, you did the right thing then. You got out before it had a chance to sour."

Her mouth twisted in an approximation of a smile. "I suppose that's one way of looking at it. I shouldn't have let it get as far as it did. I just got... caught up, I guess."

"Well. I'm glad you didn't. Get married at least," he told her, his voice low. He cringed reflexively, hoping she wouldn't take offense to his obvious meaning.

"Oh?" she said and he swore he detected a slight tremor to her voice.

"Yeah," he said, and then mentally smacked himself. Surely, he could think of a better reply than that?

"And why is that?" she prodded and this time he glanced at her to see the hints of teasing smile on her lips. That set him at ease more than anything.

He pushed a hand through his hair and gathered the tattered remnants of his nerve. "Well, this way I can ask you out sometime. For chips," he said, hoping the words didn't come out in too much of a rush. He looked at her again and saw her smile had brightened. He couldn't help but smile at her in return.

"I'd like that," she said and she sounded so young, like she had back when she'd been Donna's best mate and he and Mickey had chased them with water balloons in the park during the summer time.

"So would I," he murmured and kept smiling for a minute. Then he caught himself. "Well, obviously I would. Or I wouldn't have suggested it in the first place. That would be rather foolish, wouldn't it? Suggesting something that I don't' even want to do? Who would do that? Makes no sense, whatsoever. I'm all for making sense, me." He snapped his jaw shut with a click when he realized he was babbling. Rose just giggled at him and he felt something next to his heart loosen in reply.

She opened her mouth, clearly about to say something, but was interrupted by their friends sudden and noisy return to the flat. She hopped up to help Donna divide up the food and John realized the moment was past. Excited chatter filled the flat once more and the moment was lost. Still, John thought with a smile as he moved to the kitchen to procure a glass of wine and a plate of takeout, he was beginning to think his friends had been right. Suddenly, he found he had new hope for more wonderful moments in the future.


End file.
